Blind Item
The First Barber Shop with a Bouncer

Every now and then, something truly magnificent happens around us.

Something without precedent, match or rival.

Something like a little storefront in the East Village called The Blind Barber, that just so happens to combine the charms of an old-fashioned barber shop with the delights of a vintage cocktail lounge, opening this weekend for those rare moments in life where you require the service of both a hot shave and a dry martini.

Like many of life's extraordinary gems, it doesn't look like much from the outside. Just a plain white door and barber pole spinning alongside. Closer inspection will reveal antique chairs, along with an old-time cash register to match the two things on the menu here—a haircut and hot-towel shave service.

But like any experience involving grooming, you've come to the Blind Barber for a party... Keep one eye on your drink and the other tightly fastened on the back wall, the one with the sliding door. At the right time, you'll want to push open that door to reveal the wonder and splendor that is an old-school cocktailing saloon, complete with brass taps, black-and-white photos, worn checkered floors and a back room dubbed "grandpa's den."

It's here that weekend days will be reserved for post-brunch revelry, and any other night of the week may or may not involve a trumpet player, a contortionist or a DJ who happens to do handstands.

As if you'd indulge any other kind of DJ.